OK, second date with the girl of my dreams.....I set the fun tone with a second date picnic of Antipasto.

I figure we both bring a collection of olives, cheeses, breads, etc., and surprise each other with what we brought. (feel free to steal that, she was blown away by my playful creativity, I just thought it sounded good!)

I was gonna make my list and I thought:"Who knows food better than a bunch of brewers?"

I am going to home make some flat bread. Short of that I plan on olives, cheeses (both hard and soft, provolone, parmesan and more) pepperoncini, pepperoni, salami, etc.

What do you suggest? Obviously, original creative ingredients are better, but if there are staples I may be overlooking please chime in!

Not only are speck and prosciutto delicious, but fun to feed to one another. That sounds like a euphamism... it can be if you want it to be. If you can get your hands on the cheese "purple haze" I highly suggest you do so (you'll need crackers though). The wife is addicted to manchego with quince paste, so you might want to go that route as well. Please note that if you go to the Louiseville Kroger and ask a monger at the Murray's kiosk, those ladies and gentlemen have been trained by my wife to supply information on just such an occassion.

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Billy Blanks bathwater energy drinks,
I'd spend money on that. All the real emcees lipsynch.
I talk about stuff that never happened to me;
the public demands it so I'm tellin' it accurately.
God sent a mean hail storm my way,
I counteracted with a dirty sack of diapers on his highway.
When I die, I don't need a fancy pine box;
throw my body in the Buick, tune the radio to classic rock. ~Grand Buffet

Well first off, be careful with that "girl of my dreams" business...that will just get you in trouble, chill out, shes as crazy and needy as the rest of em. Pedestals are poor places to put women on a 2nd date.

That IS a good date idea, BTW. Especially for an early date, its an interactive thing, so it will help to prevent a conversation stall.

Anyways...food.

I subscribe to the alton brown theory of cheese plates. Have a theme..IE washed rined, soft, same milk, assertive/mild, region, ect. Sometimes more is less and this is especially the case with your girl bringing stuff as well. I would bring no more than 2 or 3 cheeses, and then bring 3-5 things that go with the cheeses.

Other things you may want to consider bringing: fruit, cornichons, nuts, prosciutto, crackers, chicken or ham salad, a cold pasta dish. I would also use any knowledge you learned about her food likes and dislikes on the first date to plan the menu, this will go over well.

One general thing(if you didnt already know this) is that with simple foods like this quality matters a great deal, don't skimp.

If you have a baguette I agree with the pate idea completely.... actually... you might want to ask her first...

__________________
Billy Blanks bathwater energy drinks,
I'd spend money on that. All the real emcees lipsynch.
I talk about stuff that never happened to me;
the public demands it so I'm tellin' it accurately.
God sent a mean hail storm my way,
I counteracted with a dirty sack of diapers on his highway.
When I die, I don't need a fancy pine box;
throw my body in the Buick, tune the radio to classic rock. ~Grand Buffet